Speak
by thedisquietingmuse
Summary: Edward Cullen is a mute. He doesn't and won't talk to anyone, not even his family. No one knows what happened to him to make him this way, and so far no one has been able to help him. But along comes Bella. Can she help him? Or is it too late?
1. Enigma

**A/N: Alrighty then. This is a continuation of another story, most of it is revised now, but the content is still the same and the title has been changed. I hope this gets as many reviews as it once had, but unfortunately the previous author for personal reasons was unable to continue this story. So, let's get this show on the road. **

**Summary: Edward is a mute. He doesn't and won't talk to anyone, not even his family. No one knows what happened to him to make him this way, and so far no one has been able to help him. But, then Bella comes along. Can she help him? Or is it too late? **

**BPOV**

Beep, Beep, Beep. I unburied my hand from underneath my toasty warm covers and hit my alarm clock to stop the annoying buzzing.

Oh Great. School again. But, this was a new school. Forks High. You see, my mother Renee got remarried this summer, and since she felt bad about ditching me all the time to travel with her new husband Phil, she sent me off to live with my father in Forks. So, here I am about to start my junior year in this rainy hell hole of a town. Just wonderful. And to make it even better, this is one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else, so I'll have a super-fun time making some new friends! _Not_.

So, I slowly get up, and roll out of bed. I walked over to get in the shower. I'm done in five minutes, and then I walk over to my closet.

"UGH! I have absolutley nothing to wear!" I yelled at the top of my voice.

Apparently it carried down the hall, because I heard Charlie yell "What'd you say Bell?"

"Nothing Dad!" I yelled back down to him.

So I stood there in my towel, my long, wavy brown hair dripping down my back. I eyed my closet full of t-shirts and skinny jeans with remorse, angry that I never packed any of the nice clothes that my mom had gotten from me from Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic back home. Huh, well too late to regret that now. I was never one to follow up on fashion, instead just choosing a plain colored t-shirt, my worn and torn skinny jeans, and my converse. I guess that'll have to do for today.

So grabbed a dark green fitted t-shirt and threw it on, with a dark pair of skinny jeans and black converse. I grabbed my book bag from off of my desk, and threw into it my blackberry, a couple of folders, and my reading glasses.

I check my clock and it read 8:15. _Oh crap! _I thought. I had to be at school by 8:50, and I had to find my way there on my own. God knows I'll get lost. Well that's just awesome, late on my first day of school! They'll already notice me since I'm a new face to look at around all the kids who have known each other since kinder, but they'll have to watch me walk in late too. Ugh. I. hate. my. life.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, and ran down the stairs. Of course, clumsy me, my foot slipped on the second to last step and I fell flat on my ass at the bottom of the landing.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed, extremly pissed. This day was not meant to go well.

"Bells, did you fall? And shouldn't you be leaving?" I heard my dad yell from the kitchen.

"Yes, I did fall, and yes, I'm going right now!" I yelled at him, picking myself off from the floor and heading to get my keys to my newly accuired used mustang my dad bought me.

"At least grab some breakfast Bellie!"

"I'll be late Dad!"

"Bells..."

"Okay fine!"

I walked into the kitchen, opened the pantry and grabbed a granola bar. I flashed it in Charlie's face.

"Happy!?!" I excliamed, as I stalked out the kitchen and out the door.

I unlocked my car and flung open the door. I put the keys into the ignition and the car roared to life. I backed out of the driveway quickly and started off down the road. The clock now read 8:23. According to Charlie, the school was just straight down the highway and off the second exit. Thank god, he was right. I got there in just ten minutes, and the school was slowly starting to be occupied. I decided to go to the office and pick up my schedule first, before I could get lost and make a fool of myself. It had just started to drizzle slightly, so I pulled out my black jacket I kept in my car and pulled the hood on. I got out of my car and locked it up, and started heading in the direction of the small building named "Forks Administrative Building"** (A/N: sorry, I have no earthly idea if that's what it would be called, but we have something like that at my school)**. As I started walking, I heard people laughing and turned around. I saw a group of about 6 people, three girls, and three boys. They were all standing in a circle, talking excitedly from what I could tell, about what they did during the summer. I was still turned around staring at them when I hit something solid, and very very hard. My head jerked back and I fell backwards onto the damp ground. I heard the sound of someone else falling as well and I looked up to see who I had knocked down. When I picked my head up off the ground, I sat up and saw another girl picking herself up off the ground. She had short, spiky black hair that was in a fashionable dissarray. She was wearing a bright, form fitting pink rain coat and matching pink rain boots. I quickly stood up and offered my hand to her.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! I got distracted, I thought someone was laughing at me and I wan't looking and oh my gosh are you okay!?" I said out of breath from standing so fast.

She took my hand in her little one, and pulled herself up.

"Oh, it's okay, I was watching my brother and I wasn't looking either. I'm Alice by the way," said the short, little pixie like girl.

"I'm Bella. So are you sure you're okay?" I said.

"Hi Bella! And yes, I'm fine, I'm fine. Are you new here? Because I know like, everyone, and I'm fairly sure I've never seen you before!" she said, a little bit hyper.

"Yea, I just moved here. My dad is Police Chief Swan." I said glumly.

"Really! Oh that's so great Bella! Everyone heard that his daughter was moving here, and I soooo wanted to be the first to meet you! This was so fate!"

"Umm that's great. Everyone knows I'm coming. So, uh, I can get my schedule in that building right over there right?" I asked her, pointing to the Administrative Office.

"Oh! Yea, you can get it there. Hey, I could go with you and show you your first class if you want," Alice told me, happiness radiating from her being.

"Sure Alice, that sounds great!"

She grabbed my hand and we strolled over to the little building together, earning strange looks from the student body that had already arrived at school. When we got to the office, she skipped right up to the lady at the desk, told her my name, and she returned to me standing at the door and handed me my schedule.

"Here you go!" she said excitedly.

"Thanks"

I looked down at my schedule. First period English, second was Trig, third Spanish, fourth I had History and fifth was my lunch period. Then, after that I had Biology and Gym. Well, it doesn't seem too bad.

"I hope you don't mind, but I looked at your schedule, and we have 1st, 3rd, and last period together! Plus lunch!" she babbled on excitedly.

"No, that's fine Alice. But that's great, at least I'll have one friend in my classes."

"Oh my gosh Bella! We are gonna be best friends, I just know it!" And with that, she grabbed my arm, linked it with hers, and started pulling me off into the direction of what I assumed was the English building.

I liked this Alice, I really did.

When we finally got towards the building, I took off my hood and jacket, and stuffed it in my bag. We walked into one of the classrooms, and Alice lead me to a seat in the very back of the room. I sat down, and so did she. She turned to me and just as she was about to talk, the bell rang.

"Class, be quiet, it's the first day of school, I know you guys are excited about your summers, so if you be quiet and let me take role, I'll let you have the rest of the class to spend as you will," said the short, bald teacher who's nametag on his desk read Mr. Gurrerro.

And with that, he started calling out names. I waited for mine to be called. I heard him call out Alice's name, and she responded with a chipper 'Here!'. Right after hers was another person with the same last name as her, Cullen, and I heard her sigh. I looked over at her, but she just shook her head at me. Mr. Gurrerro called a couple more names, then, I heard mine.

"Swan. Isaella Swan?" he called, looking around the room for me.

"Here" I said, raising my hand. Everyone turned to look at me.

"Ahh, yes, everyone this is the new student Isabella."

"It's just Bella," I announced to him.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I'd prefer to be called Bella," I whispered, my face beet red.

Oh great. Bring on the stares.

Just then, the door swung open and a boy walked in. The attention turned to him. He was wearing a tight black shirt, black jeans, and black converse. His hair was the strangest bronze color, and his eyes were Emerald green. He was beautiful. I heard Alice sigh again next to me.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Cullen" Mr. Gurrerro said.

I looked over at the beautiful boy standing at the front of the room. At the same time, he looked over at me, and our eyes met. A shiver ran through my spine when I looked into his eyes. He looked so sad, and at the same time he looked so pained. I just wanted to reach out to him. We stared at each other for an immeasurable amount of time, until the teacher cleared his throat and spoke.

"Mr. Cullen, are you going to take a seat, or are you going to continue staring at Miss Swan?" he said.

The boy flushed and looked down before walking to an empty seat by the window.

"Ahhh, still _nothing to say_, Mr. Cullen?" Mr. Gurrerro asked blatantly.

The beautiful boy named Edward did not respond. He didn't even look up. He just continued to stare at the window just like he had when he sat down.

I heard both Alice and the teacher sigh, and he continued with the roll call until he was finished. Then he leaned his head against the desk and stayed like that. Ugh, stupid teacher, sleep on the first day of class. Nice.

I turned to Alice to see her staring over at Edward. Then I remembered her name.

"Alice, is that your brother, that boy Edward?" I asked her tenativley.

She looked over at me with evident sadness in her eyes and I saw her eyes water up a little bit.

"Yea. He's my brother."

"What was the teacher saying about him not talking?"

When I said this, a single tear rolled down her cheek and she looked down. Then she spoke.

"Well, my brother doesn't talk. Not anymore. Not to anyone. Not even me," she said, speakly so quietly I had to strain my ears just to make out the words.

"Why? What happened? I'm really sorry, if I'm being rude or making you sad, you don't have to answer," I said.

"No, it's okay." She smiled a little smile.

"Well, I'm not even really sure, but last year, he went off by himself after school to drive around for a while. He liked to do that, he liked being alone. When he didn't come back, my parents got worried and called the police to look for him. They didn't find anything that night, but the morning after he was at school in the same clothes from the day before, and he wouldn't tell us where he'd been or why he didn't answer our calls. He wouldn't say anything. That was the day he stopped talking to us. The day he stopped talking to everyone."

And with that, the bell for second period rang, and we gathered our things and started to head to the door. I threw one look over my shoulder to take one last peek at Edward. What I didn't expect is that he'd be staring at me. He looked out the window the whole period, but now his eyes were boring directly into mine. I blushed and turned around, and walked the rest of the way out of the classroom with Alice.

**A/N: Okay, so thoughts? Suggestions? Comments? Let me know.**

**-thedisquietingmuse**


	2. Initiation

**A/N: Okay, well, not the response that this achieved the first time around, but I'm hoping that it'll get around and it will catch people's interest again. So, here's chapter 2. Enjoy! **

**BPOV**

Alice and I walked out of the 'homeroom' classroom as she called it, and when we got to the doors of the English building, she stopped me.

"Okay, you have, ummm, history next, right?" she asked.

"No, uh, I have Trig with Mr. Varner," I told her.

"Oh, okay. Well, you want to head down that way, that's the math building," she said, pointing to the left.

"Okay, thanks Alice. You have Spanish third period, right?"

"Yeah, that's in building 2. Just head down in the opposite direction of the math building until you see me. I'll be waiting outside for you, okay?"

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you in Spanish Alice."

"Bye Bella!" she yelled at me, walking off in the direction of her next class.

I walked down the direction she pointed me in, and I saw the building. I opened the doors and stepped in. I looked around until I found the right room and walked in.

"Hey, Bella! Over here!" I heard someone call. It was a boy with jet black hair, and glasses. He looked like he belonged in the chess club. He probably did. I laughed a little to myself before going over to him to see what he wanted.

"Umm, hey, did you need something?" I asked him.

"What?—I—Oh! No, I just wanted to see if you'd want to sit by me today. I know you're new, so I wanted to make you feel comfortable. I'm Eric by the way. Eric Yorkie." he said, making me slightly uncomfortable. I didn't want to be rude and refuse, so I took the seat that was next to him.

The rest of the class slowly piled in and the class soon began. It was fair to say that it was _really_ boring; we were starting on a subject that I had already learned back in Arizona. This blows. To start with, it's only the first day of school, and we're starting to learn, and second I already knew this stuff. So I just sat back and relaxed, letting my head fall atop the desk, and soon I was drifting off to sleep.

I was dreaming of driving down a dark highway at night. I saw something white up ahead, and unsure of what it was, I tried to slow down. But, instead of my car drifting to a slower speed, a horrible screeching noise resounded, and I wasn't slowing down—I was heading towards the white—I was gonna crash! I kept fumbling with all my controls, but nothing was working! I closed my eyes preparing for the impact when..........I was woken up by a couple people laughing. I swear my name was being called...

"Miss Swan, do you have an answer for me?"

"I-w-what?" I said, mortified that this was happening to me my first day here.

"I said, do you have an answer for me? I asked you a question, Miss Swan. Now please inform me of your answer."

"I, umm, well," I stuttered. Then, I felt something hit my leg, and I looked down. It was a small piece of paper, and I unfolded it with my foot. There was a number on it. I quickly read it off the paper.

"Umm, 55.6022 degrees" I stated, hoping that whoever threw it wasn't trying to be mean and make me look stupid.

"Oh-well, that is correct Miss Swan. So..." he huffed angrily, and started to ramble on again.

I turned around and surveyed the room. There were a couple of students still paying attention to Mr. Varner, but most of them were staring off into space or whispering to each other. One face caught my attention. I guess he walked in when I was talking to Eric, and I hadn't even noticed. Edward was sitting in the very back corner of the room, staring once again out of the window. I was probably reading too much into this, but from the angle I was sitting at, it looked like a large chunk of the paper from his journal was torn out. Huh. Why would he even want to help me in the first place? He didn't even know me.

Ring.

There goes the bell. I heard the sound of desks scraping against the floor, students eager to get out of class. I inconspicuously "dropped" my pencil, conveniently landing near Edward's desk. I bent down to pick it up and on the way down, I chanced a look at his paper. There was nothing written on it, just a crisp white piece of paper with the very top corner missing. So he was the one who helped me. That's weird. As I stood back up, I realized he hadn't moved.

"Hey, umm, the bell rang you know. And, thanks for the help by the way," I said to him. I guess I kind of hoped he would say something to me, but I knew he wouldn't. Why would he talk to me, yet refuse to speak to his family or friends?

He turned his head, and his emerald eyes met my brown ones. He nodded once, then grabbed his bag and exited the class. Even though I had heard he didn't speak, it still hurt a little when he wouldn't talk to me. And I didn't have a clue why. I stood there for a couple seconds, stunned, and then darted out the door and exited the building. I took off in the direction that Alice told me to go, and after a couple feet, I saw her standing there waving at me, next to a guy about a foot higher than her with wavy, blond hair. I jogged the rest of the way to her.

"Hey Alice," I said glumly, a bit put off from the whole trig class incident.

She beamed at me.

"Hey Bella! So, how was math? You didn't fall asleep did you? Because he always calls out the ones who do!" she asked me a hundred miles an hour.

"Well, it was okay. I actually did fall asleep, but when he called on me someone helped me out."

"Helped you out? What do you mean?"

The blond boy standing next to her cleared his throat.

"OH! Sorry Jasper! Bella, this is my boyfriend Jasper, Jasper, this is my new friend Bella!" she said.

"Hey Jasper. Nice to meet you," I said.

"You too. I'm glad Alice has made a new friend to lug around shopping with her. I was getting a bit tired of being the pack mule actually," Jasper commented. Alice playfully slapped him in the arm.

"Hey! You barely go with me anymore! I have to beg Rosie to go!" Alice said.

"Rosie?" I questioned.

"That is true Alice. Rosie, or rather Rosalie, is my twin sister." Jasper told me.

"Oh, well, that must be nice to have someone so close to you," I said.

"She's actually a big pain in the ass sometimes," Jasper responded.

We all cracked a smile and Alice started giggling.

The warning bell sounded, and Alice gave Jasper a quick peck on the lips and we all headed to our classes. Me and Alice walked into the Spanish classroom and took seats in the very back.

"So, Bella, do you want to eat lunch with me and my friends today?" Alice asked me.

"Sure Alice. Where else would I go?"

Alice beamed at me.

"Who all besides Jasper sits with you?" I questioned.

"Well there is Jasper, Rosalie, my other brother Emmett, who is Rosalie's boyfriend, and then Edward….So, I was thinking of going to Port Angeles this weekend, to go shopping for a dress for the dance that's coming up. You want to come with me?"

"Sure, but I'm not going get anything. I don't think I'm going to go to the dance."

"Awwww! Why not Bells! It will be fun!"

"I'll think about it," I said. I still don't think I'll be going.

"Good."

The rest of third period continued like that, and then fourth period after was just as boring. What else would you expect on the first day of school. Ugh. I always hated them. I just wish the stupid teachers would cut right to the chase. At lunch, Alice introduced me to everyone I hadn't met, which consisted of Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward, because Alice didn't know I had met him. Rosalie smiled at me and told me hello, all whilst fixing her lip gloss in a compact mirror, Emmett pounded my fist and broke out in a cheeky smile, and Edward just nodded. Everyone at the table glanced warily at each other.

Throughout lunch, everyone got along. I even commented every once and a while. Emmett would crack the occasional sex joke, to which everyone would laugh at and I would blush and hide behind my hair, and everyone but Edward seemed to be having a good time. He seemed to be there only because he had no where else to go.

After lunch, I walked down the hallway where Alice told me to go down to the Biology class. I'll admit, I got a little lost, but I did find it eventually. When I got there, most of the class had already arrived. I looked around the room and the teacher must have seen me because he started to talk to me before I could make a quick escape.

"Excuse me, Miss Swan? You'll want to take a seat next to Mr. Cullen over there," he said, pointing to the only empty seat available in the classroom, coincidentally next to Edward.

I walked down the aisles and was just about in my seat when I tripped and started to fall. But thankfully, I was close enough that I fell right into the hard plastic chair, and I sighed gratefully. I heard a low chuckle sound from beside me. I turned and saw Edward, but his expression was blank, except for the very corners of his mouth that were turned up. I glared at him for a second, and then Mr. Banner started to talk. He was explaining that we had to complete a worksheet with our lab partners, and the rest of the class we'd have free time. Well, this should be fun! A partner who refuses to speak! Great.

Just then Edward turned to me. He pointed down at the worksheet and started to scribble something down on a piece of paper. He shoved the paper towards me and I looked down at it.

_**I want to be done with this. Let's start. **_

"Okay."

We started the worksheet and had finished it in about 10 minutes, leaving the rest of the hour to us. As soon as we were done, Edward slumped forward in his chair, and put his head down on the desk. For the rest of the class, he slept. I just sat there watching him. He was so beautiful. He looked a little more peaceful in his sleep, but the crease in his brow was still there. I wanted to reach over and smooth it out, but I controlled the urge.

After biology ended, I went to gym with Alice, and thank god, we didn't have to do anything. After that I went to my car, and got in. As I was driving I saw Edward in the parking lot, leaning against a shiny silver Volvo. As I drove past him, I noticed him staring intently at me. Before I could get in an accident, I shook my head and blinked several times and tried to rid my mind of the images of the beautiful silent boy before me.

**A/N: Okay, so, I have a definite idea on where I'm going to take this, so once a week updates should be my thing. Please, let me know what you think. Have any comments, criticism, or suggestions, please review. Reviews will motivate me! Oh, and also, I saw all of the alerts and favorites and such that people have set, so please, if you're one of those people, review! I don't care if it's one word, but it'll really help if I got some feedback from you guys. It kinda sucks that you just read it and leave. Let me know what you think. Is that too much to ask? **

**-thedisquietingmuse**


	3. Fear

**A/N: Okay, so here's chapter three. Again, I just want to say that if you read this, please please review! Like I said, even if you just write 'horrible' or 'good' or whatever, that still helps me and will make my day so please, to all of you who have favorited this and have alerts, help me out here.**

Finally it was Friday. The week had continued as much the same as it had on the first day of school, except that Alice was now picking me up and driving me there everyday. I'd get to school, go to my classes, meet Alice in between, and, occasionally, when I wasn't paying attention, I'd steal quick glances at a certain bronze-haired Cullen. More than once when I looked over at him had I caught him looking at me. But, when he saw me staring back at him, a light blush tinted his cheeks and he'd look away to his previous post of looking out of the window.

It was the last class period of the day—thank god!—and the bell was just about to ring. Unfortunately, Eric also happened to have this class with me and was sitting on the edge of my desk chatting away. I was beginning to get desperate. Almost desperate enough to go and talk to Edward, who was sitting in the very back scribbling absentmindedly on a piece of paper.

RING.

Ahhh. Saved by the bell. How cliché. I grabbed my stuff and rushed out of the class, Eric calling out my name as I ran down the hall to Alice's locker to wait for her.

"Bella! Hey, Bella! Over here!" I heard Alice call from down the hallway.

I looked over to where she was standing, and headed in her direction.

"I already got my stuff, so we can just head straight out" she said.

"Okay." Then I realized that she wasn't carrying her backpack, just a purse and her car keys.

"Hey, Alice, where's your stuff?" I asked her, curious.

"Oh, yea, I forgot to tell you! Leave your stuff in your locker, and we'll get it later when we get back. I don't want to leave it in the car," she said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Alice, what are you talking about? Where are we going?"

"Silly Bella! How could you forget! We're going shopping!!!!" she squealed. A couple freshmen girls turned around to look at us.

"What? I—Oh! You mean Port Angeles? I thought you were kidding!" I screamed. I hated to shop. Well, I didn't hate it, but I didn't go often enough to take a liking to it.

"Bells, do I look like one to kid?"

I gave her a quizzical look.

"Exactly!"

"Aliccccee, why can't you just take Rose!"

"Becauuuuuse, Rose has cheerleading tryouts to manage today! Duh!" she answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well, I guess it was. Beautiful, Rich and Blonde=Cheerleader. Or, at least, in Rose's case it did.

"Fine. But, I want to get back before the sun goes down at least!"  
"Oh come on Bella, that's not adequate time to shop!"

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

We headed out to her shiny yellow Porsche, and before I knew it we were speeding off down the highway towards civilization. Alice turned on the radio and let me plug my ipod into it. I turned it on and hit shuffle, and "The Trickster" started playing.

_I wanted you so bad  
And I couldn't say  
All things fall apart  
We wanted out so bad  
We couldn't say  
These things fall apart_

We both sang along to the music, laughing at how tone deaf we both were. It was almost good how bad we sounded. But, eventually the song ended and we were no longer able to smear its good name.

After about 40 minutes, we got to Port Angeles. We started off down the block, Alice dragging me to a small, eloquent looking shop where she said she could find some designer dresses. We walked into the shop, and after 2 hours of trying on dress after dress, Alice finally settled on a strapless, hot pink bubble dress, and I had found a dress also. It was a dark, navy blue; it came to about mid-thigh with a sweetheart neckline. It was safe to say it was gorgeous, but when I looked at the price—big mistake by the way—I saw it was $1000 dollars!

"Alice! This dress cost more than I could make in 3 months!" I yelled at her.

"Ugh, Bella, it's so gorgeous on you! It has to be bought!" she whined.

"I don't have the money Alice," I said, downcast.

"I never said you would be the one buying it," she said with an evil smirk.

Before I could realize what she was doing, she had run up to the snobby looking woman at the register and proceeded to pay for both of our dresses for the dance I wasn't even sure if I was going to go to.

"Okay Bells, time for some accessories!" Alice squealed, upon returning from making our purchases.

"Umm, Alice, can I go and find a book store maybe? And you can pick out all of my accessories?" I said before she could interrupt me.

"Uh, I guess. Jeez Bella, sometimes you are so boring!" she said before walking off and up the stairs in the store.

"Oh, meet me back here at 6 so we can go eat, okay!?" Alice yelled at me.

"Okay, Alice."

I started walking down the street, passing all the shops as I went by. Wow, I've barely been here a week and already I have a crazy almost best friend dragging me around shopping, I thought.

I wasn't really paying attention to the shops at this point, until I saw a blur of bronze through one of the shop windows. I started to walk backwards, and sure enough, there was Edward Cullen. Coincidently enough, he was inside the bookstore I had barley noticed. I opened the door and a little bell chimed to announce my entrance. The woman at the counter greeted me, and Edward never even looked up.

"Umm, do you know where I can find any classic literature?" I asked the kind-eyed gray haired woman minding the register.

"Yes, right over there, third row to the left, and one back" she said, pointing to the exact row Edward stood in, pondering over two books.

"Thank you" I replied quietly, walking over to him. He looked up at my approach and when he recognized me, he smiled a small, crooked smile. It was breathtaking.

"Hey Edward" I greeted him.

He nodded at me. I took that as a silent hello.

"Umm, are you trying to decide which of those to buy?" I asked him.

He nodded again.

"Hmmmmm." I looked between his two choices. One was _Wuthering Heights_, a great favorite of mine, and the other was _The Tempest_, one which I had also read, but the first was my favorite of the two.

"If I were you, I'd go with _Wuthering Heights _because it's plot is just so eloquent and it's magically written, and Cathy and Heathcliff's love isn't the usual. It's just a better story, if you're into those types of things" I said, trailing off.

He smiled a warm smile at me and set down _The Tempest_ and went up to the register with his copy of _Wuthering Heights. _

I smiled at myself before searching the shelves for myself, finally settling on a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, one I had also read, so many times in fact the spine ripped in half and I had to throw it away. I walked up to the woman at the register and paid for my book. Then I check my cell phone. It was only 5:30. I decided to settle down on the comfortable looking chairs by one of the shelves to read before returning to Alice. After what felt like not long at all, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took it out and opened up the text I had received.

**Bella! Where the hell are you!? It's 6:15! I have all your accessories picked out! Get your butt over here now! Or face my wrath! ;)**

It was from Alice. I gasped, the time had gone by so fast. Well, I thought looking down, I guess that explains how I am already on page 95.

I closed my new book, stuffed it inside the bag and started to head out of the store. It was already very dark outside, even though it was only about 6:20. Kind of creepy if you ask me.

I started to walk along the path I took to get here, and it didn't take long before I realized I was sort of lost. I was going to ask someone, when it dawned on me that no one else was around. Maybe I should call Alice and tell her to pick me up here instead…….But then my thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey baby! Watcha doin over there all by yourself!" slurred a man somewhere in the distance.

I looked over my shoulder and saw three men standing on the opposite side of the street from me, one of them swaying under the light of the lamp on the sidewalk. I could tell from here that they were all drunk. I started to quickly walk away, almost jogging, and when I looked over my shoulder again, I breathed a sigh of relief. They were gone. They weren't following me.

I rounded the corner of the end of the street I was on, and it took me to another street, and I ended up having to cross the road. When I was on the other side, I continued up the walk and I decided to turn right, and loop back around and see if that led me to the shops. As soon as I turned the corner, my breath caught in my throat. It was a dead end. It looked like an alley, with a dingy trash can in the very back corner, and two of the drunken men from earlier leaned casually against it.

"I knew you'd come back for more" cooed one of the men.

"Yep. Just couldn't leave without saying hi first," another one said.

"Bout time Felix, what took you so damn long?" the tallest of the trio said. I spun around. There was the third man, apparently named "Felix" blocking off my exit of the alley.

"She's a slow one. Trips over her own two feet more times than you cuss in a day," he replied to the two men by the trashcan.

"Huh, klutzy are you? All the easier to catch if you try to run," the tall one said evilly, and advanced towards me.

I couldn't breathe. A thousand thoughts were racing through my head, and I couldn't think clearly. _What could I do? I couldn't run! I'd kill myself! But I couldn't fight them either. _Clearly I had no options here. I started to panic, and like an idiot, I started to run.

"Felix" caught me, and spun me around, shoving me into the alley wall.

"Now now, don't try to run away from us. We don't bite. Much." He said, smirking at me. I let out a small whimper. Felix started to laugh at me. Then, he started to slowly trail his hand up and down my arm, and I shivered at his rough touch. Abruptly, he grabbed the tops of both of my arms and pressed his hard lips to mine. I tried to push him away by turning my head, but that made him become even more rough.

"Hey! I called first dibs last time, asshole!" the shorter of the two men shouted.

Felix pulled away from me, still keeping me pinned into the wall, leaving bruises where his hands were holding me.

"Shut the hell up James, you got the last pretty one first. It's my turn this time."

I let out another whimper at his words, and James cussed under his breath.

Mike turned back to me then, and his rough hands started creeping down, hovering at the hem of my shirt. He was just starting to pull up on it, when I heard James cuss again.

"Shit Felix! You said she was alone!"

Just then, I heard the most beautiful sound. An angel calling my name.

"Bella!" he breathed, a mixture of pure rage and shock.

**A/N: Cliffhanger. Payback. Hah. Okay, well, don't make me beg……and if I get enough reviews, maybe I'll post another chapter tomorrow. Since, you know, I already have the first eight done and all………..**

**Oh, and if your wondering, the song Bella and Alice were listening to was "The Trickster" by Radiohead. Awesome song, you should check it out. It also sort of fits my story, or at least that's how I interpreted the lyrics. Okay, bye!**

**-thedisquietingmuse**


	4. Voice

**A/N: Okay so turns out I deleted the chapter 4 I already had written so…..I had to come up with a new one….which stinks because I don't remember what the previous one had in it. Huh. Oh well, hopefully I satisfy your need for brooding Edward with this chapter. When you're done, leave me a review please :). Oh, and sorry I left you with a cliffie,……maybe review lots and lots and it won't happen again *hint hint* Enough of my rambling. Onward!! **

_Laurent turned back to me then, and his rough hands started creeping down, hovering at the hem of my shirt. He was just starting to pull up on it, when I heard James cuss again._

"_Shit Laurent! You said she was alone!"_

_Just then, I heard the most beautiful sound. An angel calling my name._

"_Bella!" he breathed, a mixture of pure rage and shock._

**BPOV**

As Laurent had loosened his grip on me when he heard my angel, I was able to turn my body towards the voice.

It was Edward! He was my savior.

If I hadn't known him, I would've thought that he was there to join the party too. The look on his face could only be described as pure rage, and it terrified me. I didn't fear for myself of course, because it couldn't really get any worse, but I feared for my attackers, James, Laurent, and the other men. From the look on his face, things were not about to go well for them.

As soon and Laurent saw him, his grip on my hips loosened and moved to move arms, and he threw me down to the ground, me landing hard on my knees and wrists enough to scrape them and cause them to bleed on the cold, dirty pavement.

Before I could blink, Edward and rushed forward and him and Laurent were dancing. Both almost circling each other, with the other men watching on, waiting to see what they needed to do. They both looked ready for the fight that was sure to come, Laurents face contorted in anger because his 'toy' was getting taken away.

They continued to circle each other, Laurent slowly moving backwards with each step trying to draw Edward back into the alley. Edward must have seen something to his advantage or had some sort of plan, because he lunged forward suddenly, surprising both myself and Laurent, and punched him straight in the jaw. The force Edward had used knocked Laurent into the alley wall opposite him was great, and I could already see the small trail of red dripping from his long dirty hair.

The resounding crack that was made upon impact was enough to make me flinch and grit my teeth. He hit him _hard. _He probably broke his jaw.

As Laurent moaned in pain, Edward landed another hit right to the side of his head, knocking it against the wall once more, effectively landing Laurent on the ground seemingly unconscious.

As this whole spectacle was occurring, the other men and I had done nothing but stare with our mouths open and seemingly harmless Edward otherwise beat the shit out of Laurent.

Seeing that Laurent was unconscious, I made a move to get up, hissing when my scraped hands helped to push myself up. Hearing the noise, the other men were re-alerted of my presence and made a move to grab me.

I shut my eyes, but before they could reach me, I felt cold hands and fingers hoist me up by my upper arms, and grab onto my elbow.

"Run Bella!" Edward shouted to me, as he took off carting me behind him. We ran out of the alleyway and down a street that was across from us, hearing the heavy breathing and shouting of the men in pursuit of us.

We ran down two or three streets, me tripping and stumbling every couple of feet letting the men gain on us a little. My heart was racing and my hands were sweating, and I could honestly say that I was the most afraid I have ever been.

We turned a corner and just when I thought my legs were about to give out and my lungs were going to burst, I saw Edward's car parked a couple feet away. Using my last spurt of energy, I sped up and Edward and I hopped into the car like we were on fire and the car was a lake.

The men were maybe two or three yards still behind us, and just as they barely reached the car, Edward had peeled out, a loud screech calling out into the silent night, leaving my attackers in the dust to collect their knocked out friend.

Edward's hands were clenched so tight on the steering wheel I thought he would snap it in half. His knuckles were almost white. His breathing was heavy and he looked very tense, not at all unusual seeing as what we had just been through.

But, all in all, he was still beautiful. The streetlights we passed caused the red in his hair to shine, and the green in his eyes to brighten. But, he was slightly flushed, and he was scowling.

Not once did he look at me though. Not yet at least. I stared at him, hoping he'd feel my eyes on him and speak, but he didn't. I wouldn't push him to talk to me. If he wanted to he would, if not, then that's that. He probably only talked back there because he couldn't _not_ say something.

I took to staring out the window, trying to figure out where we were going. I saw a couple familiar stores from earlier, including the bookstore I first saw Edward in. I assumed he was taking me back into the occupied part of Port Angeles.

Even though I knew he wouldn't respond to me, I couldn't help myself.

"Thank you," I whispered, afraid to disturb the deadly silence in the vehicle.

He stopped the car abruptly and turned to look at me.

"Thank you?," he repeated back to me.

"Bella, this whole thing is my fault in the first place. I've been watching you ever since I left the bookstore. I saw you heading down towards the end of the shops, but I thought you were going to go into one of the stores. I let my mind wander for one second and you're gone, and I have this sinking feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I knew you were in trouble. I drove around for 10 minutes before I found you and almost then it was too late!"

"But you weren't—,"

"And then, I almost rip your arm out of your socket dragging you back to the car, and those vile men could have caught up to us at any time!" he said. I waited a couple more seconds to see if he wanted to blow off any more steam, and when he didn't I took my opportunity.

"Edward, none of those things matter. Only two things matter to me right now. One, you saved me from those horrible men. From being—from being," I sniffled, tears leaking out of the corner of my eyes "another statistic!"

"And two….you talked to me. I've wanted to hear your voice ever since the day I met you. You intrigue me so much Edward. Even though I don't know you, I want to get to know you. I've dreamed about hearing your voice, I want to help you. I want….I want…" I stuttered, not knowing how to finish my train of thought.

Edward reached out his hand and gently wiped a tear that had been sneaking it's way down my cheek. I automatically leaned into his touch.

"Bella, I know exactly how you feel. One look at you and I knew you were different from all of them. None of them can really see, but I know you can. I wanted to talk to you too, but I've developed this instinct to just shut everyone out, I was trying to find a way to let you in. I probably would've spoken to you eventually," Edward all but whispered.

"I'm glad you feel that way Edward."

"Me too."

"So what are you going to tell Alice? Should we call her to tell her where I am?"

"If you haven't quite noticed, that little girl bobbing up and down next to her car on the phone would be Alice. And please, say nothing of this to her. I'm not…….ready."

Sure enough, when I looked out the window, we were parked on the curb of the little designet boutiqe that Alice had brought us to earlier, and she was pacing next to her car, the worry etched on her face visible from where we sat.

"Not ready? What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm not quite ready to….converse with her….with anyone just yet. I need to figure this whole mess out."

"So…..does that mean after this, you're not going to talk to me anymore?" I asked him, worried. I had just gotten one of the things I wanted most, and now it was getting taken away from me. I guess you can't always get the cake and eat it too.

"No. I will talk with you. I feel….safe, talking to you. But please Bella, please don't let anyone else know." He pleaded with me.

"Of course. I wouldn't do something like that to you."

"Thank you Bella. Would it be alright if I called you tomorrow?"

"Sure, here's my number," I said, typing it into his phone when he offered it to me.

"Alright, well you better go, Alice looks like she wants to call the cops. Just….make something up. Something convincing please," he said very jokingly.

"Okay, I will," I said.

I opened the door, and with one leg out I leaned back to kiss cheek.

"Thank you Edward."

As I got out of the car, I started walking over towards Alice who was still frantically pacing around the parking lot we were in.

"Alice! I'm back!"

Quick as a bolt of lightning, she turned around and launched herself at me.

"Oh my goodness Bella, you had me so worried! I thought you were lying dead in a ditch somewhere! Where in the hell were you!?!"

I flinched, knowing that almost was the truth.

"Umm….," I said, my mind reeling for a convincing lie to tell her.

"I was at the bookstore and I started to read, and I just got so lost in the book I lost track of time. And then, when I realized I'd have to walk all the way back, luckily Edward was there and drove me here."

"Edward? As in….my brother?" she said, looking confused.

"Yea," I replied, pointing to where he was parked, hovering.

"Wow, that's so unlike him. Huh. He would've made me walk," she started to grumble, unlocking my car door and walking to the driver's seat.

We both entered the car, and as if Alice could sense my dismal mood, the ride home was mostly silent. About an hour later, with Edward following behind us, we arrived back at my house.

Alice said a quick goodbye to me, and handed me the bags of stuff she got for me. I waved goodbye to her and to Edward, as he had followed behind her, and they both sped off into the night.

**A/N: Sorry I couldn't get this out earlier, it wouldn't let me upload the document for the longest time. But anyways, here it is, the cliffie ending. I hope you liked it. Leave me a review, and tell me what ya think, and if you have any questions! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**-thedisquietingmuse**


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